Why be different

Customer-owned banks such as Teachers Mutual Bank Limited and its brands, Firefighters Mutual Bank, Health Professionals Bank, Teachers Mutual Bank & UniBank¹ have a different business model at their heart than the major banks.

Owned by members	Profit vs people
Have your say	Peace of mind

Owned by members

Teachers Mutual Bank Limited via its brands – Firefighters Mutual Bank, Health Professionals Bank, Teachers Mutual Bank and UniBank – has members. Being a “Mutual” means that members are the owners.

People vs profit

The big banks are generally listed on the stock exchange. This means they are owned by shareholders. Shareholders demand high returns on their investment, which means that these bigger banks are focused on profits and dividends. A part of their profits are distributed to shareholders through dividends without necessarily benefitting customers.  

Instead of profits being distributed to institutional shareholders and investors via dividends, the profits of Firefighters Mutual Bank, Health Professionals Bank, Teachers Mutual Bank and UniBank, are re-invested back into the Bank to benefit all members and the community they support. The benefit goes two ways – it’s mutual!

Teachers Mutual Bank Limited is owned by members for the benefit of members. There’s an alignment between what our members want and what we deliver. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship.

Values based banking	Outstanding, friendly customer service
Competitive and convenient solutions to your financial needs	Bank anywhere, any time
New technologies	Exclusive workplace visits for extra convenience
Proudly Australian

Investing in the community

Putting part of our income back into the community is central to us as we are a purpose-driven bank. We invest 6.9% of net profits after tax back to the community, exceeding global averages². 

Brand	Serving these communities	Community initiatives
Firefighters Mutual Bank	Firefighters and Emergency Service workers	We’re proud to be involved in the NSW Fire and Rescue regional state championships and the Rural Fire Service state championships which showcase the skills and expertise that firefighters use very day.
Health Professionals Bank	Health Professionals	We get behind your community, sponsoring events like Australian Healthcare Week in Sydney and the Australian College of Nursing, Nursing and Health Expo in Melbourne.
Teachers Mutual Bank	Teachers and teaching support staff	We provide scholarships to university students who are studying to become teachers with up to $6,000 in financial support to help them on their journey. So far, we’ve provided over $400,000 to over 100 scholarship winners.
UniBank	University staff and students	We’re a proud sponsor of the three-minute theses: a challenging national competition designed to cultivate and showcase research students’ academic, presentation and communication skills.

Going above and beyond for our members

In the 2017 Canstar Blue Banking Satisfaction Survey, Teachers Mutual Bank received a 95% customer satisfaction ranking, almost 20% above the overall banking industry average of 76%.

According to the Canstar survey, here’s what drives satisfaction in challenger banks, like mutual banks:

  

Competitive and convenient solutions to financial needs

For example, Money Magazine’s Best of the Best 2018 ‘Best Term Deposit – Long Term’.

Anywhere, any time

Members can bank any time, anywhere with mobile and Internet Banking.

Accounts can be accessed at thousands of ATMs across Australia and around the world or visit one of our 8 branches and offices in Sydney, Newcastle, ACT, Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane.

New technologies

We were one of the first financial institutions in Australia to rollout the New Payments Platform to all our members, an innovation that has saved 15,000 members³ valuable time in their day-to-day lives. 

 

Workplace visits

Whether you are teaching the next generation at school or university, working tirelessly in a hospital or serving or protecting our community, we bring the bank to our members. In the last financial year alone:

• Teachers Mutual Bank made over 1,200 visits to schools across Australia.
• Firefighters Mutual Bank conducted over 225 Fire and Rescue Station visits in NSW, WA and ACT.
• UniBank held more than 200 events nationally reaching graduates, students and professionals in the university sector.

Proudly Australian

We are proudly an Australian bank with Australian staff, with over 200,000 members owning a share of Teachers Mutual Bank Limited.

We operate throughout Australia, with contact centres spread across NSW, Perth and Brisbane. With branches in NSW (Sydney, Parramatta, Rooty Hill and Newcastle), ACT, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane, we are committed to keeping jobs in Australia.

How members have their say

A $10 share also entitles you to one vote, which means you can attend the Annual General Meeting and express how you want the bank to be run. That vote means:

• You can vote for who you want elected to the Board of Directors who will run the bank.
• You can vote on proposed changes to the Bond.⁴
• You can ask questions about our management and financial performance.

Over four million Australians bank with mutual banks, credit unions and building societies, which is why the sector is known as customer-owned banking. Customer-owned banks are required to comply with the Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice.

When do members have their say?

Members can attend our Annual General Meeting and Extraordinary or Special General Meetings. At these meetings you can propose business and vote on resolutions.

What does the Banking Act mean for our members?

Teachers Mutual Bank Limited via its brands – Firefighters Mutual Bank, Health Professionals Bank, Teachers Mutual Bank and UniBank – is an Authorised Deposit-Taking Institution (ADI).

All ADIs are regulated under the Banking Act 1959. This means that mutual banks must meet the same prudential standards as other banks. The $250,000 government guarantee on deposits also applies to all ADIs, including mutual banks. So, even though mutual banks are smaller, and more member-focused and community-minded than regular banks, we still need to comply with strong banking regulations, thereby protecting your interests.

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)

Mutual banks are scrutinised by the banking regulator Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to prove the institution meets the capital requirements of a bank as well as a wide range of regulatory requirements which are in place to ensure the stability, security and sustainability of the Bank, giving our members confidence and peace of mind.

Our Common Bond and Constitution

Firefighters Mutual Bank, Health Professional Bank, Teachers Mutual Bank and UniBank are divisions of Teachers Mutual Bank Limited. Teachers Mutual Bank Limited is governed by a Constitution and that Constitution sets out the ‘common bond’. The bond defines who is eligible to become a member.

Download our Constitution